Author: Eliza Barclay

A skyscraper’s exterior skin adds structural support and helps maintain the building’s internal temperature; some skins also offer aesthetic value, shimmering in the light and reflecting the landscape in pleasing ways. But what if a skyscraper’s outside wrapping could take…

It’s a paradox that artists who pioneer the renaissance of blighted industrial neighborhoods often are displaced when the areas become gentrified. Artspace Projects, Inc., a non-profit, real-estate developer, offers an alternate solution. The organization, which was founded in Minneapolis in…

Finally materials scientists and designers have picked up on cellophane’s greatest ecological asset: biodegradability. And they are running with it. The cellulose-based packaging material now has many plant-based cousins, each able to disappear into a compost heap within 180 days,…

Although the streets of Havana, Cuba, are dominated by decrepit buildings, it is rare to come upon an abandoned lot strewn with rubble and weeds. Instead, these disused plots are coveted prizes: sites that precipitate heated standoffs between gardeners with…

A tiny creature with a voracious appetite, the Formosan termite is wreaking havoc on New Orleans: The city spends about $300 million per year on efforts to repair and prevent building damage caused by the bug, which originally hails from…

“Ecovillage” is not a term that comes to mind when describing Shaw, a low-income neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C. For starters, there aren’t any lush vistas and protected natural areas—this is the inner city—nor are there brightly colored roofs with…